| Show V it 9 R K THE hydrocarbons OF EASTERN UTAH it don Nin maruire guire of ogden in mines antl and minerals Mine of scranton pa K P it 4 K K central utah there lies an area in eastern miles in which we find 1600 square of f about a greater greater number of the hydrocarbons pres of the area in other region ent nt than in a any ny ither either north or south america the very euce of these wits was unknown to civilized bout about forty years ago when hunta hunters pan AH until a 11 tors observed the dark strange and ad prospectors through the coun they passed substances ib stances as try v then a stronghold of the ute indians indian irl arly in the seventies some prospectors brow rollout alit samples of and the hydro irbon carbon now known as gilsonite to provo and salt ill lake city and some of it was sent to san in francisco it was passed upon by local experts as a very veroy dry and pure asphaltum but it in those days little attention was given r it silver and lead was the a s i search for gold 11 miners liners occupation and therefore little time I 1 was as given iven to the discoveries of materials whose hose use and value were destined 7 for the future ture moreover the locality in which these ivere ere found at that time lay in an indian autry country far from a railroad station in a very bough ugh broken country from which the translation por upon mineral products would have been sen so expensive as ag to leave no margin of profits to the miner from the year 1872 until 1880 various kinds af asphaltum like substances from this region reg ion und their way into eastern cities the first of these substances which drew public atten tion on proved to be mineral wax or it came from a pass on the santa fe and salt take ake trail called soldiers summit in mem 7 of the passage of a part of the arm army y of albert ibert sidney johnston which marched over at route when leaving utah in the spring f 1861 at present the rio grande western inroad passes this point and about one mile orth northeast east of what is now dow soldiers summit tation work of development was opened on ie e deposits by a company organ ed in new york city and ma managed 11 by prossor crupar it this deposit exists in a cret cretice ace 1 18 measure the country rock bein being soft 4 cayey a y ey san sandstone and the deposits of ozoner or black mineral wax occur in ep posits I 1 k professor coupal continued his work for imort eight years but in all that time less aan n five carloads of were produced f finally y e works and machi machinery nerv were by the new york coni company pany to be located located later by others the ozol thus imad ed at soldiers summit was found suited suite d luany any purposes it was a in most excellent conductor impervious to moisture and e from om grit or stoney impurities when cited ea int into cakes it could be by chemical ment freed from carbon and the result E a beautiful ul white wax suited to a hundred poses 1 aes it was at once valuable burits but its limited quantity rendered its mining Z unprofitable and for a time little attention was paid to it or its kindred minerals about the year 1881 when the rio ria grande western railroad was first projected h that part of utah renewed interest was given criven to every prospect of mineral wealth that lay in the country to be passed over by the n new ew railway line sand and lime asphalt asphaltum uin were known to exist in spanish fork canyon at thistle in whitmore canyon and also at white rocks on the uintah indian reservation samples of a black tough substance proved to be a very dry and pure asphalt asphaltum uin which was first experimented upon by mr samuel gilson a mining man who became one of the locators of the first large 11 deposits of this mineral discovered near the present site bite of fort duchesne on the uintah indian reservation in uintah county utah the person who brought the notice of the existence of this mineral deposit to the attention of mr gilson as his associates was a mr george basor mr gilson and his friends located the deposit or vein and for his pains labor and work of investigation mr gilson was honored by havid having the mineral called gilsonite after himself this name was given to it by professor fristo of washington city who made the first exhaustive experiments upon it A company was formed and work upon the deposits began experimental work in the laboratory showed that it was suited to the manufacture of mineral paint varnishes and lacquer of the most superior quality and the first gilsonite sold in the american market brought per ton the then owners of tins this mineral deposit I 1 were R 0 chambers president of the ontario silver mine at park city utah samuel gilson of salt lake george goss and richard mackintosh of salt lake the property was patented a wagon road was built at great areat expense from the mine to price station on the rio grande western railway eighty miles to the southwest shipments of gilsonite began bechan but hardly had the first fir st owners received their first returns from fi om the sale of prod product I 1 act when they sold the entire property to M mr r C 0 baxter of st louis mo who along with his associates organized orga nied the st louis gilsonite asphaltum company they paid to mr gilson and associate owners for the group of claims and have worked the property continuously ever sirce since sir ce it a period of almost twelve years during this period r gilsonite has haa been exported into every countr country Y of europe and extensively used for making into lacquer and varnishes in the united unite d states and r notwithstanding ot withstanding the great reat volume used and the immense quantity in sight in this and other veins the mineral sells at the price station for about CO 60 per ton As to the he nature of these gilsonite deposits or veins I 1 will here state that I 1 have visited most of those known to exist in eastern utah and western colorado and in nature and formation they are alike I 1 will describe the one owned and worked near fort duchesne by the st louis gilsonite asphaltum Asphalt uin company of st louis mo it is a fissure vein about six feet in width very regular 1 cutting r clearly the red sandstone formation of the country from southeast to northwest or to be precise 58 deg north 50 min west and it may be stated litre here that all of these gilsonite asphaltum veins run across the countr country y in the same direction and in ayery case the vein is a vertical fissure this gilsonite asphaltum is the same mineral frequently called iain uinta hite which name was 11 given it by one professor blake of provo prove utah but doubtless for all time the name in gilsonite lils onite will be most generally used CONTINUED IN NEXT ISSUM |
